Implementation of a traveling exhibition, a website, a symposium, a catalog, and educational and public programs, together with production of a complementary two-hour documentary film; the film concerns the sites of major events of the life of the Buddha, and the traveling exhibition concerns the art of Buddhist pilgrimages to those sites.

Asia Society, the preeminent multi-disciplinary institution dedicated to understanding Asia, and David Grubin, the distinguished documentary film producer, come together for a joint project examining the life of the Buddha and Buddhist pilgrimage. Through a two-hour documentary film biography of the Buddha, a dynamic, multi-venue international loan exhibition on Buddhist pilgrimage practice, PILGRIMAGE AND BUDDHIST ART, with more than 100 objects, an accompanying scholarly catalogue, interactive web site, symposium, and related humanities programs, this unprecedented project will explore the life of the Buddha and Buddhist pilgrimage practice across all of Asia. Since the Buddha???s life experiences are integral to places and practice of pilgrimage, the exhibition and documentary are designed to enhance one another. The PBS nationwide premier of the documentary, THE BUDDHA, will coincide with the exhibition opening in February 2010.